THANK YOU TO EDITOR MARK ANTONY ROSSI FOR NOMINATING THIS POEM FOR THE BEST OF THE NET. I AM HONORED AND HUMBLED BY THIS RECOGNITION OF MY WORK. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO READS AND SUPPORTS MY POETRY.

THANK YOU TO EDITOR MARK ANTONY ROSSI FOR NOMINATING THIS POEM FOR THE BEST OF THE NET.  I AM HONORED AND HUMBLED BY THIS RECOGNITION OF MY WORK.  THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO READS AND SUPPORTS MY POETRY.

THE VALUE OF SHADOWS

The Value of Shadows

 

The remains of the night’s rain lay soggy upon

the waterlogged branches of limp, bowed trees,

appearing as the hunched, angled, stooped

backs of many old men walking here.

 

I caught a shape in the mist that

reminded me of you, or

perhaps I was just imagining

you and your soldiers returning

to the spot you had fought so hard to hold.

 

As the sun peeked through,

I remembered these were only trees,

although I gratefully recall it was here,

sixty years ago,

that your battalion won the day.